Personality

Personality

There is a strong connection between the personality disorders and the theories that have been presented by famous theorists. It will not be wrong to assume that the widely studied theories have a significant impact on the characteristics and traits that are exhibited by the people suffering from the personality disorders. The personality disorder that will be studied in this context is the Narcissistic personality disorder and how the different theories relate to it. The theories that will be examined in relation to the disorder are the ones that have been given by Karen Horney, Erik Erikson and Gordon Allport (D. Schultz & S. Schultz, 2008).

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

The narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is known as a persistent invasive disorder that is described by symptoms such as an excessive sense of self-importance, grandiosity and absence of empathetic feelings for other people. Similar to other categories of personality disorders, the narcissistic personality disorder is based on thoughts patterns of behaviors that exist for a long period of time and cause difficulties for the affected person in different area of life such as personal relationships, work and friendships.

Background

Narcissistic personality disorder was not very common before and became recognized as an illness during the last 50 years. The disorder has its initial roots in mythology of ancient Greeks. Based on the myths, Narcissus was known to be a young man who was not just handsome, but also proud of himself (Schustack & Friedman, 2008). When he looked at his reflection for the time in water, he could not stop staring it and kept on staring till he eventually died. Since then, the concept of exaggerated self self-admiration has been studied by different psychologies and philosophers. Now, narcissism is classified as a disorder and studied as a subject of scientific interest, pertaining to the field of psychology. He related it to primary narcissism which is known as the energy that forms the basis of people's instincts of survival (Ronningstam, 2005).

The theories given by Freud were later on studied by other theorists such as Horney. According to Freud's theory of personality, everyone is born with a fundamental sense of self. The experiences that people go through during the stages of infancy and early childhood have an effect on what they acquire as their sense of self, which is also known as ego (Schustack & Friedman, 2008). The interaction of children with the world is what teaches them the social norms of the world and what the society expects from them, which eventually leads to the formation of idea of ego, and creates the ideal image of oneself that the ego struggles to achieve.

Freud had also placed emphasis on the notion that the love which one has can also be transferred into another person or object. Freud suggested by giving love to others, people eliminate primary narcissism which causes them to become less capable to protect, defend and nurture themselves. For the purpose of filling back this capacity, they require love and affection from ...